Tasnim � An American political commentator said the US government is still seeking to harm the Islamic Republic of Iran in revenge for the overthrow of the �puppet regime� of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last monarch of Iran, back in 1979.


�Historically, the United States has wanted to punish Iran for deposing its puppet and creating the humiliation of the hostage crisis. That led to using Saddam Hussein as the US proxy in his eight-year long war with Iran,� E. Michael Jones, a political analyst in the US state of Indiana, told the Tasnim News Agency on the occasion of the 39th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which put an end to the ruling of the US-backed Pahlavi regime in Iran.

Eugene Michael Jones is an American writer, former professor, media commentator and the current editor of Culture Wars magazine.

Following is the full text of the interview:

Tasnim: Iranians have started Ten-Day Dawn ceremonies across the country, marking the 39th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which put an end to the ruling of the US-backed Pahlavi regime in Iran. Since the victory of the Islamic revolution, the US and its allies have been seeking to achieve his goal of regime change in Iran. What�s behind Washington's regime change policy towards Iran?

Jones: Historically, the United States has wanted to punish Iran for deposing its puppet and creating the humiliation of the hostage crisis. That led to using Saddam Hussein as the US proxy in his eight-year long war with Iran. More recently, Donald Trump has been using Iran as a whipping boy to curry favor with the Israel Lobby because he needs the Jews on his side to thwart the Deep State's efforts to destroy his presidency.

Tasnim: In his State of the Union address, US President Donald Trump repeated meddlesome remarks against the internal affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, voicing his support for the rioters who in late December 2017, attempted to create chaos in some Iranian cities. He said, �America stands with the people of Iran in their courageous struggle for freedom�. What�s your take on his anti-Iran remarks?

Jones: Again, Trump is trying to curry favor with the Israel Lobby. America's intelligence agencies were also quick to claim credit--if for no other reason than to justify their inflated budgets--but these riots differed from the CIA sponsored riots of 2009. There was a large measure of domestic discontent at the root of the 2017 riots.

Tasnim: As you know, Washington has set up a working to �fix� the JCPOA. In his maiden speech for national unity, Trump reiterated previous accusations regarding �fundamental flaws� in the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, once again denouncing the deal as �terrible.� What is your take on this?

Jones: As we Americans say, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The JCPOA ain't broke, and so no one--not Iran or any of the other co-signers--should go along with the idea that it needs fixing. If he insists on pulling out of the agreement, Sigmar Gabriel, Germany's foreign minister, warned that "the end of the world" would follow. Well, maybe not the end of the world, but Trump may bring about the end of NATO if he insists on having his way here. Tillerson's stupidity in insisting on keeping American troops in Syria after the Americans lost the war there has led to the brink of war with NATO member Turkey. One more shock like that may bring about the end of NATO. Once again Trump's irrational behavior toward Iran has put the US at odds with her allies in Europe. This is all because of his rabidly pro-Israel foreign policy.